This breathtaking Norfolk wedding venue was the perfect setting for this beautiful sunny day!

“I really wanted a barn wedding and after visiting a few venues and lots of research online, we were completely bowled over when we came across Pentney Abbey. It had the showstopper Gatehouse as well as the rustic barn, and the fact that it also had accommodation on-site and the gorgeous bridal preparation room was a big positive too. It really is a hidden gem in the Norfolk countryside! I’m very close to my family, so I had to get their approval with our venue. Rob and I had already fallen in love with Pentney after our initial visit, but it was so nice to be able to take my sister and parents to a viewing there to seal the deal!”

“We went for a colour scheme of mainly greenery and foliage as well as some beautiful white flowers. We wanted to have quite a relaxed but cosy vibe, so we had lots of candles and tealights with plenty of loose foliage and flower arrangements. We also used some bohemian style rugs to make it feel more informal and intimate. Swaffham Florists were amazing and helped us pick out a selection of gorgeous foliage and flowers to go with our greenery theme. They included ferns (which I absolutely loved) as well as lots of eucalyptus, wax flowers, peonies (because they’re one of my favourite flowers!) and white roses to tie in with the rose garden at Pentney Abbey.”

“I always thought I would choose a really simple and plain dress, nothing too fancy or big. However, when I actually started trying them on, my inner magpie seemed to come out and I was suddenly drawn to all of the beaded dresses! The final dress I tried on (number 20) was the Sibella dress by Eliza Jane Howell. My first reaction actually was that although the dress was gorgeous, the sleeves didn’t really suit me. However, the staff at the bridal boutique then suggested that these could be easily taken off. To try and show what this would look like, we tucked them away under the straps, and ta-dah - my bespoke dress was born. I absolutely fell in love with it! Completely covered in beads and sequins, it was certainly not the plain dress I had initially imagined myself choosing, but I’m so happy that I found it!”

“I felt a little bit nervous when I first woke up because it had been forecast as thunderstorms for the whole week leading up to the wedding. The first thing I checked was the forecast! However, excitement soon took over and I decided that it was going to be an amazing day, whatever the weather! I loved the morning, getting ready with my mum, bridesmaids and bridesman. It was nice and relaxed, and we all helped to do each other’s hair, chatted and listened to music. It definitely kept me feel calm before the ceremony!”

“We had our reception in the barn at Pentney Abbey, with our décor being lots of foliage, candles in cylindrical jars and tealights. Our wedding favours were fortune cookies (a nod to me being half Chinese), and our name places were all written by hand in calligraphy by my sister and me. We also had a hand-written seating plan and other details hired from The Little Lending Company. We had a semi-naked three-tiered cake that was decorated with complimenting flowers.

“After the wedding breakfast, it was time for the speeches by my dad, Rob and the best man. I also said a few words and one of my bridesmaids Emily did a speech to make it a bit more gender-equal! There were quite a lot of embarrassing pictures displayed using a projector screen, particularly of a band I was in as a teenager! In the evening, my dad’s band provided the musical entertainment for the evening reception. It was so lovely to have them there and made it a proper family affair. Rob even got involved and played a few songs on the bass guitar!”

“Whatever happens, try to make sure that you really enjoy it and don’t worry about everything going ‘perfectly’ on the day. Imperfections make things interesting! Rob accidentally got my name/middle names mixed up in the heat of the moment during our ceremony and had to repeat it three times to get it right! But it just made it funny, as well as providing a good story to tell afterwards!”